Mainstreaming land rights in the narrative of climate change: views from the ground
The Asia and the Pacific region experience the highest frequency and magnitude of
extreme weather events. Around 72 percent of the total frequency of intense natural
disasters was recorded in Asia and Pacific between 1971 to 2020 (Thomas, et. al.,
2013). Further, data from the Annual Disaster Statistical Review Reports shows that six
of the top ten countries most hit by natural disasters between 2006 to 2015 were in
Asia, including China, India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal (Guha-Sapir,
et. al., 2016).
Not only are countries in Asia the most hit by natural disasters, they are also considered
the most vulnerable. The high frequency and impact of disasters in Asia is largely due
to the size of the continent and landscapes that present high risks of natural hazards,
such as river basins, flood plains, and seismic fault lines. Additionally, there are high
population densities in many disaster-prone areas of the continent.
Many Asian countries also have large growing populations with a high proportion of
poor people living with tenure insecurity that lessens their resiliency to the adverse
effects of disasters. Coupled with land degradation, poverty reduces the ability of
communities to respond to the effects of climate change. In developing countries of
Asia, poverty incidences are high and remain prevalently rural and agricultural. Rural
poverty is strongly linked to the lack of access to land – due to landlessness and
deprivation, insecure tenure, and contested land rights.
Poverty and the lack of tenure security heighten the risks of people to the effects of
natural disasters and climate change. To put disaster risk in its proper perspective,
approximately an equal number of people are exposed annually to tropical cyclones in
Japan and the Philippines. Yet, a cyclone of the same intensity would kill 17 times more
Filipinos due to the country’s greater level of vulnerability, including poor standards of
housing and infrastructure, and the numbers of poor people settled in at-risk areas
(IDMC, 2013).
Thus, rural poor who have weak or no land tenure rights are among the most vulnerable
to the direct effects of climate change, both because insecure land tenure reduces the
incentives and capacities to take good care of the land to mitigate or adapt to the effects
of climate change, and because without secure tenure rights, disasters can easily lead
to land loss and migration, exacerbated by land grabbing and the loss of documents.
Yet, public understanding of the links between climate change, disasters, and land
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tenure is still very limited, leading to poor prevention and wrong response, while those
without land or are near landless remain voiceless, and are often left out of climate
change discussions.
Thus in 2020, the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
(ANGOC) prepared a discussion paper as a contribution to this topic (link: https://
angoc.org/portal/no-time-to-waste-climate-action-through-secure-land-rights-andsustainable-
land-use/).
A major recommendation of the said paper is to build better understanding and
appreciation of land tenure issues in climate change discussions by “humanizing” the
issue and by amplifying the voice of the marginalized. This can be achieved by
collecting more evidence and people’s stories, towards a better understanding and
appreciation of land tenure issues in climate change discussions.
In July 2022, ANGOC and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation
(GFAR/GFAiR) organized a webinar to share the findings and recommendations of the
study. The participants committed to pursue the initiative, which led to the development
of a pilot program of collective action among GFAR/GFAiR, ANGOC, and the Land
Portal Foundation (LPF). Such collective action aims to foster better informed and more
inclusively designed climate disaster prevention and resilience policies by
mainstreaming the land rights of the rural poor in the climate discourse. For more
details, see https://www.gfar.net/content/collective-action-land-tenure-climate-change.
At the same time, part of the current work program of the Global Land Tool Network
(GLTN) is to create an understanding of the cross-cutting dimensions of land with
climate change. Even with the growing awareness on climate change, there is still
limited understanding and response in addressing the nexus of the impacts of climate
change, social and policy responses, and need for land tenure security.
Thus, ANGOC and the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) jointly
organized this conference on “Mainstreaming land rights in the narrative of climate
change: views from the ground” in partnership with GFAR/GFAiR, GLTN, and LPF. This
event likewise contributes to the ongoing initiative of ALRD on land rights as supported
by Bread for the World.
This blended event – participation was both face-to-face and virtual – created greater
understanding and analysis on the importance of land tenure rights in the climate
change discourse. It brought some 81 representatives (21 females, 60 males) from rural
communities, CSOs, international organizations, Bangladesh National Human Rights
Commission, officials of the Government of Bangladesh, media organizations, and
academe.
